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Dwarves
There are four large dwarven kingdoms in Bandagora: Mirandor and Bangalode, both located in the Dagdor Massif, Thulcandor southeast of Donara, and Dvorkazad in the Ratsgar Massif. All of the above trade in weapons and armor of very high quality (even magical). Be warned though, that if the quality is high, so is the price. Miralandor, the capital of Mirandor has the widest range and suffers the least from the dwarven 'backlog syndrome'. An Adventurer’s Guide to Dwarves. by Starton Vegdelas of Bese Introduction Let me start by admitting that there is no smoke without fire. Many of the things you’ve heard about dwarves are probably true in some small way. But like other races, we are not bound by our origins, it is merely that, a starting point. Humans have populated the world and become the standard against all others are measured. So be it. So how are we different from humans? Well, much like the elves are closer to the Spirit Plane than humans, we are closer to the Elemental Plane. We are grounded, not merely tied closely to Earth, but all the Elements. Because of this, magic does not come easy to us. Instead, we understand the forces of nature. We live long lives, though not rivaling the lifespan of elves. I you have any dwarven friends, you will probably already know that you don’t have to treat them any different than your other friends. However, this guide is meant to help those who are guests of dwarves, either in our underground kingdoms, or in a private home in an otherwise human-dominated city. So where to begin? Are dwarves greedy? Oh yes! However, once you think it through, you will realize that it is a trait they share with most others. True, dwarves love precious metals and gems, but then again, who doesn’t? Gold and diamonds are not just beautiful, they are lasting treasures. And if you live long, you learn to plan for your retirement. But remember that though dwarves may appreciate the value of metal more than others, this does not make them more deserving of it, and they know it. So if you are visiting a dwarf in his home, he will not expect payment. He will extend his hospitality as graciously as any other host. On the other hand, if you are stranger coming to a dwarven town, you should watch your belongings closely, and hesitate to take freely offered advice. Pretty much the same way you would tread warily upon entering an unknown human city. So yes, dwarves are greedy, and they would much sooner relieve you of your gold than shoot a warning arrow past your ear. When dealing with merchants, craftsmen, barkeeps or vendors, remember that they expect you to be gone soon. So they will overcharge you if they get the chance. But if you haggle and get a fair price, they will not cheat you. A dwarf that bargains well is respected, but one that does not deliver the promised goods is despised. It should be noted that prices of dwarven wares are often a lot higher than similar human. The reason is simple. The quality is high. There is little room for sloppy craftsmanship in the long lives of dwarves. And while you may be used to human cities full of poor who will work for a meal, absolute poverty is rare among dwarves. So the workmanship is good, and the pay to match. Well, odds are that if you are an adventurer, this will present no problem to you. You already expect good quality, and you pay good money. Dwarves and the gods What gods do dwarves worship? All and none, the playwright Vordevor has the dwarf Torden say. And from a human point of view, it is true in the sense that dwarves revere all gods, but they never sacrifice to them. All dwarven worship takes the form of ritual. It does make things awkward between humans and dwarves, as each sees the other as having only disdain for the gods. Dwarves are quick to think that humans see the gods as vendors of good luck, pay Inanna and you may bear a healthy child, pay Idun and you may stay beautiful. On the other hand, humans think dwarves too stingy to offer the gods anything but their time. And it is true that dwarves expect less from the gods. They expect no favors. Think of it as if the lord of the realm were to ride by you. You would bow to him as he rode by, out of respect, not because you expected a few coppers thrown your way. Most adventuring dwarves understand that humans are not hagglers of good fortune - it is just that humans live short lives, which is balanced by the magic that flows much more easily through them, especially that of the gods. But with such short lives, there is not always time to pay respect through rituals, when this respect can be represented by valuables. Still, for the common man and the common dwarf, it is a great divide. So if you visit dwarves, remember that though gods may freely be mentioned in conversation, worship is a private matter. Lastly, it is no secret that to us dwarves, Orlon is the greatest god. Yet you humans hardly know him. He is known as to you as Kirion, the god of balance - or Pan, the god of the wild. Worse, we call Orlon the Puppet-master. Well, perhaps puppet-master is not the best translation, but Orlon is the unseen hand, the force behind the scenes - the reason that the world goes on. And as with the other gods, Orlon does not readily grant dwarves miracles. Yet all dwarves acknowledge that Orlon has given the greatest miracle of all, the meaning of life. For the world was created in chaos, and the task of dwarves is simply to put it into order, to sort it into parts. Yes, you might think that dwarves delve into the mountains for gold and precious stones. Not so, the dwarves are patiently sorting through the rubble, creating structure where none was before. Dwarves and elves The mutual animosity towards elves, what’s up with that? In short, is it the direct consequence of the above. When the world was young, there was no sun, and life grew slowly. Then, as now, the dwarves dug stone and built cities. But mostly above ground. Seeing themselves as Orlon’s servants of order, they toiled with pleasure. Now the elves lived peacefully alongside of them, inhabiting the woods as they do now. Both races abhorred pollution, which is when something is where it does not belong to the point that it kills life around it. Then when the sun was created, the speed of life, as it were, hastened enormously. Dwarves call this period the Thaw. Since elves loved life, and that they considered change the most important part of life, they welcomed the sun, though their eyes liked it no better than the dwarves. The dwarves, on the other hand, were not so pleased. Weeds grew out of control, stone crumbled - in short, nothing stayed in its place for very long. First there was some mutual trust, but numerous occasions of conflict ensued. Melting from the sun’s heat, the ice in the mountains had spewed rivers that were eating their way through dwarven lands. The dwarves felt the rivers should be tamed, their energy harnessed. The elves did not. The details are lost, but it did not end well. And there were multiple other cases, many of which ended in wars. In the end, the dwarves did the noble thing and retreated underground, where things were more or less as they as always been. Unfornately, they did not do so before much enmity had grown between the races. Dwarves and magic How about dwarves and magic? Well, all you need to know is that all dwarven magic is material. It always originates in a physical presence. If you ask a dwarven sage about this (and personally I would advise against it, unless you have some other ulterior motive apart from actually getting an answer), he will say − after a dozen lengthy preambles that are absolutely necessary to him because without them you will understand nothing (he believes) − that dwarven know two kinds of magic. The dwarven calls them “with the grain” and “against the grain”, which roughly corresponds to “natural” and “unnatural”. Apart from the select dwarven point of view, this is really nothing new. The magic that goes with the grain is inherent in most matter. Some forms of matter are extremely magical like orichalcum, but most are weakly so. So weak, in fact, that one hardly considers them magic. Water flows, air is fleeting, earth is dense, fire burns. But these we think of as natural, not magic. When we construct a bridge that crosses a deep ravine, we take the stone and form it, slowly making it do our will, yet letting it remain stone, letting it serve its original purpose and our new purpose both. Is it magic? Most humans might admit such a bridge to be a marvel of dwarven engineering, but they would not call it magic. It is slow, exhausting, and there to last. Exactly the opposite of what most humans consider to define magic. When dwarves delve into the underground, they also scour the rock for minerals that have qualities that might be put to good use. Orichalcum is one extreme, earth another, yet in between there are precious stones and metals that have what you might call magical properties. As you might have guessed, these commodities and the wares that can be crafted from them, are extremely important in dwarven society. Especially weapons and armor forged with the right ingredients can be extremely powerful. But to return to the distinction between the two types of magic, the other kind, the one against the grain, can be roughly summed up in one word: spells. What is a spell other than a manipulation of some force, making it do things that are within its power, but not in its nature. How would a wizard cross a ravine? He might cast a flying spell. And once his twisting the arm of nature is done, nature returns to normal. As opposed to the bridge, his spell is fast, easy, and fleeting. As an adventurer I see nothing wrong with spells, it is to me merely another way to achieve things. And most dwarves feel the same. However, we were created by Orlon to put things in their right places, and we cannot - willingly or unwillingly - cast spells that go against that. Priests are a different story, for their spells are not like a magic-user’s, they are appeals to the deity. And since deities are in all nature, all divine spells are natural. On a lighter note, a well-known story among dwarves is that of the siege of Gabiliond, at that time a new colony almost entirely above ground. The colony was built on a ledge, which was easily defended. Then one of the founders were accused of wife-stealing, and the accuser besieged the colony, demanding him handed over. After a few skirmishes the attackers decided that they would build trebuchets and bombard the fragile houses on the ledge. Then Gabiliond sent their most clever negotiator to the besiegers, and in short persuaded them that flinging heavy rocks into the air was against the nature of the stone. Of course such notions are foolish, and the story is one for merriment. Dwarves put out fires, they stop the flow of water, and they capture air. And rest assured that any travelling wizard will be treated no less cordially than a warrior. Where are the women? And what about those bearded dwarven women? Actually, women among dwarves are pretty much what you would expect. However, as I started this guide, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. As it happens, in desperate times female dwarves sometimes include something called mikorsha in their diet. Mikorsha can be extracted from a certain kind of shimmermold that usually is grown in tunnels less travelled. Eating mikorsha makes a dwarf-woman infertile, in general, her body becomes leaner, more man-like. And yes, if she continues to eat it, she will eventually grow a beard. It is something a colony of dwarves may decide that its females should do only in cases where the survival of the colony is threatened. It is never a decision taken lightly. Also young dwarf-girls have been known to eat mikorsha in order to prepare themselves for a hard journey or adventure. Though it is not dangerous to eat, the longer you do so, the longer it will take for the body to return to normal. Tradition and law Are there any special laws? Does an outsider risk going to jail if he wears a helmet inside? Actually, it is possible, but very unlikely. Dwarves tend to make fairly sensible laws, and they are much more likely to make contingencies for things that may happen. You might say that the Dwarven Nation, as it were, has a constitution, for all dwarves obey the same fundamental principles of law. There are three: the Law of Age, the Law of Hearth, and the Law of Life. The Law of Age states that “any bearded dwarf may command himself and all that he has sorted”. The wording is archaic, but it states clearly that an adult dwarf has the right to freedom and property. When exactly a dwarf comes of age is interpreted differently, especially in the case of female dwarves. As an outsider, you may wonder if these rights are extended to non-dwarves. Absolutely! The right of property is sacred to dwarves. I will not claim that there are no thieves or scammers among dwarves, but other than that, you and what you own are protected. The Law of Hearth states that “a dwarf must abide the rules that protect the home”. It simply means that a dwarf must follow the local laws, and similarly, that the children must abide their parents. Now the local laws may vary from there not being any, to the whimsies of local ruler, to a whole library of detailed written laws. Here, dwarves are not that different from men, except they perhaps tend to make laws in the more elaborate end of the spectrum. In most cases, detailed laws are better for the outsider, because they are more predictable. However, the last law is the Law of Life, which states that “if an action is necessary for a person to survive, it is lawful”. I think that you should remember this if you should get into trouble. Dwarves respect the sanctity of life. And this time the wording works in your favor as a visitor. Be careful not to abuse this law, for that would be a serious mistake. For example, let’s assume you’re out of food. You obviously need food to survive. That does not make it okay for you steal food, not unless you’ve exhausted all other possibilities. Using the Law of Life as an excuse for a crime is considered blasphemy, and that itself is a capital offense. Ironically, that is an unwritten law. If you commit blasphemy as a dwarf, you’ll be ostracized. If you’re a stranger, there’s no telling what the consequences might be. My only advice is not to do it. To sum it up, bad things do happen to good people. If that wasn’t so, there would be no need for dwarves. But generally, in dwarven society, laws are a force for good. Try to respect those around you, and you should be fine. Legendary origins Where do dwarves come from? Well, according to legend, the first dwarf was Brandulf. For many years, he walked the earth alone. Then he saw that animals mated and had litters. He pondered this the longest time, wondering if he was unique, or if indeed Orlon had made him a wife. Finally he solved the riddle, and found Hergedur. The two settled down and had 11 children, who each in turn found their mate (from where? The legend doesn’t address that issue) and established a clan. In the beginning, each clan would know one profession. The clans were named after the original sibling, and were, according to legend: Khazir, the farmers; Brunnen, the water-smiths; Talika, the miners; Natendi, the smelters; Rhodi, the philosophers; Arnen, the mages; Zirkon, the jewelers; Vegdi, the priests; Durni, the masons; Hefnir, the blacksmiths and Glodi, the tinkerers. For a long time this worked fine, but as in all stories, there must be tragedy, and this story is no exception. The Arnen kept being frustrated by the little power they wielded compared to the power they knew existed, so they did some questionable things in their search for power. The Rhodi, who had spent their time sorting ideas like their brethren sorted matter, now turned their attention to the Arnen, and eventually began admonishing them about the dangers of consorting with powers they did not fully control. As it happened, the mages not only ignore the warnings, but when the inevitable corruption engulfed them, they turned their rage against the philosophers. Soon the other clans came to aid of the Rhodi, but it was too late. So both clans perished. From that day on, the clans changed so that all clans shared all professions, now it was more a matter of family and territory. Today, the Talika and the Durni mostly live in Thulcandor. The Khazir and the Brunnen have settled in Mirandor. The Zirkon inhabit Dvorkhazad. The Hefnir founded Bangalode. The Glodi live all over. The Vegdi and the Natendi are, if not lost, scattered and without a head of the clan. Since the ancient days hundreds of new clans have been founded, some claiming heritage to the original eleven, most not. My own clan does not have any ancestral claims, yet its name is derived from Vegdi, the priests, in the sense that Vegdelas means preacher. Even with hundreds of clans, the majority of dwarves are not organized in these extended families. Instead, they have followed the ancient tradition that when a group of adult dwarves leaves their home to establish their own colony, they only keep their given name. Some are content with just one name, others give themselves a new last name. There are really no rules to nametaking, yet again tradition makes most choose a name along the lines of Thundershield, Shimmerhelm, Gemseeker or Brightaxe. Of course, the children of such settlers also receive the surname, and thus any family is potentially a clan in the makings. It is difficult to say exactly when a family grows strong enough to become a clan, but as the reader may have guessed, it happens from time to time. For example, the colony of Branafon is now led by clan Steelguard, which originally consisted of two brothers. Is ancient history important to dwarves? Well…, yes. Because, actually, there is one thing not so likeable about us dwarves. We − well, not all dwarves, but enough to matter − tend to bear grudges. So, ancient history still matters. I mentioned that there was some bad blood between elves and dwarves with the coming of the sun. We also disagree on another matter. Again, it’s ancient history, but it can still get some dwarves riled up. Dwarves and elves agree that the first dwarves lived in the mountainous foothills and that the first elves lived in the shadowy forests, and that there was practically no contact between the races. We also agree that hobbits came later, and finally men. However, from the dwarven point of view, we were in existence long before we met elves, which makes dwarves the older of the two races. As it happens, the elves tend to think they came first. I personally have no idea who is correct. But this is not about historical proofs. Whereas the elves think it curious that we believe we were first, we are grumpy that they won’t admit it. As to men, there is some slight resentment. If you look through history there are thankfully very few cases of war between men and dwarves. Mostly because men know not to mess with us. But orc wars abound. And though we have beaten them repeatedly, they have multiplied so fast as to make up for our superiority. In almost all cases, we eventually gave up and let them have the lands that were hard to defend. Which were the same foothills where we originally lived. Now we live underground, but the point is that men came along and drove the orcs away, in effect occupying our homelands. Now there’s not many dwarves who actually consider moving back into the open, but that does not stop us grumbling about humans trampling on our ancestral lands or something to that effect. You see, the urge to complain is another dwarven trait. And though complaining excessively is generally considered impolite, complaining about things that are not dwarven is not. A brief history and the present lay of the land So here’s a brief history of dwarves and a short tour of the kingdoms: The story of Brandolf and Hergedur is a legend, most dwarven scholars agree. There are those who consider it a historical fact. They date the birth (for lack of a better word) of Brandolf to 23,624 years before the Thaw. This would be -108.387 in the Common Calendar. Legend or not, the nine surviving clans lived in the mountains and their foothills until the time of the Thaw, which more or less corresponds to the time following the creation of the sun. Before that, the mountains were one big circle-shaped massif, and all dwarves were connected. With the sun, however, some of the Frozen Lands thawed, and huge masses of water and mud slid south, creating a huge gap between the eastern part (present-day Morgahlte) and the western part (present-day Dagdor). This was not a quick, catastrophic event, but it was world-changing. Some dwarves call it the Sundering, though most consider that name a bit over the top. What happened was that dwarves got together, had all kinds of discussions of what was dwarven. They made the three rules of law, for example. And also started the dwarven calendar in -84.763 CC. As it happened, the Thaw made the lands much more fertile, and though there are few dwarves living in say, Lacre-Cai, it never meant that dwarves couldn’t freely move from one part of the world to the other. At the time, though, dwarven people were nervous. They moved south, and founded the first two dwarven kingdoms, Dvorkhazad and Thrashkund. Of the two, Dvorkhazad has been a stable kingdom, slowly expanding downwards into the mountains while maintaining a strong presence on the surface. Today, it is ruled by Thioduin IX of the Zirkon. While outsiders are tolerated on the surface, they are seldom welcome below. You will have to become a pretty good friend of the dwarves to visit the First Hall of Zirkon. Dwarves themselves must earn their way there, it’s simply a matter of trust. The Zirkon have not always ruled Dvorkhazad, but eventually the other clans agreed that it was a good idea to have a safe place that the Zirkon would guard. So the Talika and the Durni left to found Thulcandor, where I was born many years later. The capital of Thulcandor, Bese, is much more friendly to outsiders. We encourage trade, though in the past decades years the continuing illness of Gundoin VI of the Talika has dampened the spirits somewhat. You might have noticed that I’ve skipped Thraskhund. To be honest, it is not something we like to talk about. Unlike Dvorkhazad, who always had a strong food source, Thraskhund relied on trading valuables for produce. It seemed a good idea at the time, since the Thaw had made most of Bandagora’s lands very fertile. Men plowed the fields and bartered barrels of wheat for mere trinkets. But not all good ideas are meant to be realized, as one dwarven saying goes. Another traditional dwarven saying seems to hit the nail right on its head: “Any dwarven clan that do not brew their own beer are doomed.” What happened was that Thraskhund became rich yet vulnerable. Meanwhile the humans grew strong enough to throw out the orcs from their lands. Orcs were being pressured into the less arable lands everywhere, leading to dwarf-orc conflicts all over Bandagora, but nowhere was the envy of the orcs so great as in Thrashkhund. Most of the dwarves abandoned the kingdom, leaving only the determined Natendi. Most historians agree that they would have held against the waves of assault, had not the trolls helped the orcs. And even when in recent years a new colony has been established, there are rumors of pockets of resistance surviving all through the dark times deep down in the Ragged Mountains. When Bangalode was founded, they declared that they would learn from the lessons of Thrashkhund, and it is today a thriving kingdom whose most important exports are mineral or mineral products, but with a solid food source underground. The capital is Bardak, where Barin III Hefnir rules. As an adventurer, odds are that the dwarven kingdom that would mean most to you is Mirandor. It is only 800 years old, yet it has grown rapidly because of the potential hidden deep within Dagdor. You may have heard of Skandelion, perhaps even of Dvalin’s Gate. If you have, you will surely have felt the temptation to go explore the unknown depths, fight monsters, and discover incredible riches. Let me say that dwarves feel it too. The fall of Dvalin’s Gate was not pleasant, and it has served as a dire warning for those who would follow. Just the same, Miralandor, the capitol of Mirandor, encourages adventurers to explore the unknown. Today, the city is ruled by Dunlang IV Khazir. Are there any other dwarves I should know of? Well, there are evil dwarves. But since they are evil and most probably will try to kill you I can’t really advise you other than stay away from them if possible, and if not, kill them before they kill you. The Dwarven Nation does not acknowledge any relationship to them. So if you kill them and loot them, we have no special claim. In the same vein we are not responsible for any actions they may take. There are, however, numerous dwarven colonies that are not part of the kingdoms, yet part of the Dwarven Nation. Of these, Terkentast in Skitaura, Nedain in the Black Mountains, Grelizond and Rekmuhl − both in the Brossis − all have the status of city (which would roughly correspond to duchy among men), and have each asked to be recognized as a kingdom. It is not my place to decide such things, but I would think Nedain, ruled by Dramon II, is most likely to be reckognized by the elders. Lastly, isn’t it true that dwarves consume copious amounts of beer? They can drink a lot of beer, for sure. However, the truth is that dwarven bodies are extremely robust, and they are able to store nourishment within their bodies. Averaged over time, they do not imbibe more beer than your regular customer at the inn (which is, admittedly, more than the average human). Dwarves do eat and drink excessively compared to men, but on the other hand they are able to work for days without stopping to eat or drink. That’s it, your guide to dwarves. Dwarves are wary of betrayal, but once you earn their trust, they are fiercely loyal. So if you act with respect, you will receive respect in return. Good luck!